Wednesday, 24 August 2011

Oh dear hell. Ergo's Disco Van is chugging into town again, with more slabs of disjointed mustard-groove to dance the night away in red hot shoes until you are dead.

This installment of the ongoing Disco Van series is called Ergo's Disco Van Morrisons, and is dedicated to all those musical artists who have their work stocked exclusively by supermarkets, putting themselves on a par with ready-meals and shrink-wrapped beef.

Tuesday, 23 August 2011

Well folks! We're back. "The Third Policeman" has premiered, much (very tired and rather intense) fun was had by all.

Audience so far have loved it and detested it, as indicated in the image above. Which is, of course, just the way we like it....

Today's issue of The Times featured a rather splendid review of the show, below...

This link will take you to a photo gallery of images taken by Claire Shovelton (the above image is taken from Claire's gallery).

The lovely Tom Ravenscroft has also been drumming up support for the show, via his 6Music show where he featured a ten minute mix of songs and music from The Third Policeman, and in his New Statesman column, where he writes:

"You should probably expect to be at first a little startled - the music will be wildly unpredictable as I suspect will be his actions. I would be almost concerned if you had witnessed anything like it before. He is a burst of imagination, colour and noise, which has in the past left me sitting jaw collapsed on the floor, speechless as to how someone can so beautifully map out such madness."

And finally, today's blog would not be complete without this image of the Gang of Rogues a few minutes before going our separate ways.

Many thanks to Caroline & Izzy, Bill, Anna, Nell and all the other lovelies of Tete-a-Tete...﻿

And let's not forget thanks to the Third Policeman team Erik Bumbledonk, Vulnavia Vanity, Oblivian Substanshall, Martha Moopette, Mike Wade, Bryan Innes Parker, Lucinda Guy, Talulah Lotus & Autumn Poppy. See you for more shows from October to December......

"If it's anything like his last [opera], The Morning Show, an opera about DJ Chris Evans going slowly mad and ending in him believing himself to be a crow, then I strongly advise you try and attend. For those of you unfamiliar with the work of Ergo, he is an exceptionally difficult fellow to describe, he has over the years produced a body of work that crosses over every kind of music and sound imaginable, and he can imagine considerably more than you or me."

Monday, 15 August 2011

Reporting from the underneath of Grindia Studios, Bridport, is artist, actor, composer and raconteur Vulnavia Vanity, who plays the Protagonist in Ergo Phizmiz's "The Third Policeman".

Hello cheekies, it's Vulnavia here.

Is it about a bicycle?

Of course it is. Why else would you be here were it not for the magnetic pull of the slender frame, the soft ring of the bell, the firm yet supple grip of the handlebars beneath your fingers, the hypnotic spin of the wheels?

Yes. The bicycle is truly a masterpiece crafted by the human hand, second only perhaps to the jam sandwich or the typewriter.
All this said, personally I have an irrational fear of riding a bicycle.

This stems from a traumatic experience in France when I was brave enough to mount a bicycle, only to discover that bicycle brakes are pretty damn strong, and when my little journey around the garden ceased to a halt, I fell onto the frame, crotch first.

My testicles bled.

It would give me copius amounts of pleasure to sail along the streets on a beautiful, vintage model with a little basket on the back to pick up bread from he boulangerie.

But I'm afraid this will never happen.

But at least The Third Policeman helps me live out my fantasies.

The rehearsal process has been very interesting thus far and has gone surprisingly smoothly, although we still have a terribly long way to go in four days.

This is a role unlike I have ever played before, in the sense that a great percentage of the show I am interacting with other characters who are just recorded voices.

I've been exploring my characterzation quite extensively over the last week or so and have eventually discovered the Protagonist's physicality. In a style almost reminiscent of Bouffon Clown, the Protagonist has his deformity (the wooden leg) and this completely compromises how he moves, his stance and also his attitude. This yonder photograph captures it rather well:

To finish, we have also been playing with shadow behind the projection and have discovered taken some quite lovely images. Look at Grandma Vulnavia for example:

And Grampa:

Ergo & Oblivian dance:

And we say a tender hello to a newly dead friend.

Nanu-Nanu & all that, lovelies ♥

And here is Vulnavia Vanity in his prime, with his rather splendid single "Worse Things Happen at Sea"....